Lore/Story For The Wynn (13)

Spoiler: Strange Symbols

'You're nothing like your brother.'


'Useless boy.'


'You were an accident, literally.'


'Shut up!' Hearolie woke up and sat bolt upright in bed, terrified by his nightmare.


'Shut... up...' His breathing is still rapid and shallow. Looking around, he saw Localcolt sleeping soundly at the other side of the room while Skywalker was in the middle looking at him.



'What were you doing shouting like that...' He asked, his back not leaving the bedsheets.


'It's nothing...' The archer replied. 'Just had a dream of you screaming at my ear.'


'Right...' The ninja got up and through the coloured windows, saw the streets have been cleaned up. The people performing their daily errands as usual.


'What do you want to do today?'


'Just walk around and kill monsters I suppose. When I get stronger, I am going to kick Witherhead's ass. I am going to be the best monster hunter and collect every dungeon reward out there.'


'Yeah right...' Skywalker murmured, not paying any attention. 'Good luck with that.'


Localcolt finally woke up. 'Reygina said she'll be reading the books inside the city's library.’


'Typical Reygina.' Skywalker smiled.


'She didn't tell me that, are you sure?' Hearolie questioned, looking at the dark wizard.


'Yeah, she said she wanted to look at the Detlas's culture,' he replied. 'Told me yesterday when we helped clean up the market stalls.'


'Reygina always told me what she's up to.' The archer murmured to himself.

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'These symbols...' Reygina read. 'So, they're called "Wynnic". That’s what those strange signs on our gear and weapons are.'


She flipped through the next pages and continued reading. 'There is one symbol for each alphabet, although some were created for specific terms and punctuation.'



'I learned to translate simple words, but it would seem I need to practice more to read more complicated sentences.' She thought to herself.


'Hey.' A familiar voice called to her. She turned her head back so quickly that her glasses almost flung off.


'Oh sorry Krisstal, didn't hear you there. Hearolie scared me from behind before, so I thought you were him.' Reygina giggled, remembering their incident in Ragni.


'Ha... Well, I'm not him. Not as tall and imposing at least.' The warrior replied. Both she and Reygina laughed, wondering how funny it will be if Hearolie is short.


'Sorry to ask, but what was like outside fighting a raid? I was inside the basement the whole time, so I didn't join the action.' She asked innocently, taking off her glasses and blew the lantern.


‘It was… scary really. I couldn’t have done it if not for the others’ help. Slicing off the giant’s arm would have been impossible without them.’


‘No way… You’re the soldier who delivered the final blow to the giant zombie that I have been hearing all day yesterday?’ She hugged her tightly. ‘You aren’t hurt really?’


‘Apart from my head still hurting… Everything seems fine.' Krisstal began to talk about how the battle with the giant zombie and its zombies had happened. How many have died and injured, but also the many new spells and classes she saw in action.


‘Then we fought the leader of the zombies.’ Krisstal said. She had agreed to what Skywalker had said about causing widespread panic if Herobrine was mentioned. ‘He ran to the woods next to the city after killing some of the soldiers. We persuaded him and battled.’


Reygina eyes widen. ‘And then what happened?’


‘He escaped and ran away. Skywalker and I chased after him, but he completely overwhelms us. We got knocked out and he escaped to… somewhere.’


‘Poor you…’ Reygina frowned and hugged her friend. She patted her head while Krisstal acted hurt.


‘Enough about me, what about you? What are you reading?’ Krisstal tiptoed to look over Reygina’s shoulder to see what she’s reading.


‘Oh here,’ she held her hand and dragged her over to the desk. ‘It’s this.’


Krisstal read the title. ‘How to read symbols without symbols… The hell is this?’


‘Don’t judge a book by its cover.’ The mage laughed. ‘It’s quite informative actually. It tells the origins of these symbols. I found another similar book that explains similar things.’


The mage linked her arm with the warrior, signalling her to read the book she had together. ‘The books state that earliest appearances of Wynnic originated from a species called the olm, but it is believed the species was extinct.’


‘Woah… What’s the reason for their extinction?’


‘We don’t know, it doesn’t say anything further than that. I suppose that’s a mystery. Though I’m not even sure if anyone still speaks Wynnic.’


Something clicked inside Krisstal. ‘Reygina… What do you remember about our life in Fruma?’


‘That’s a funny question… I remember… Oh no!’ Reygina screamed as her glasses dropped from her hand. She panicked as she began shaking Krisstal back and forth, talking nonsensically.


Krisstal felt like she was about to hurl. ‘Rey… gina… St… Stop it.’


‘Sorry, I panicked.’ Reygina said. She took a sip of water from her bottle. ‘What’s going on?’


‘That’s what I’m investigating. Can you tell me how much you remembered?’


‘Ahh...’ Reygina counted. ‘Recruitment poster with you three… My love for art, history and culture. Entering the caravan. What your names are. And I just know that I’m friends with you, should be for a long time, right?’


‘The amnesia affects differently for each person?’ Krisstal observed. When she saw the mage was going to explode from outburst, she hugged the frightened mage tightly. She had other questions to ask her but decided against it. Not while she was in shock.


‘There there…’ Krisstal patted her head, ‘I’ll find out this mystery for all of us. Problem is, I don’t know where to start. There’s more I think you’ll be interested to know.’


She told the mage about Ragni’s secret library on how they found a strange pike.


‘From your description, I wonder if the steel sword and pike are related.’ Reygina wondered out loud. ‘Like, are they from the same creator?’


Krisstal simply shrugged. ‘The corrupted had taken the pike, we only have the sword remaining. Skywalker has it.’


Reygina sat back down on the chair, taking in everything. ‘One step at a time, for the steel sword, did you notice anything different, or Skywalker for that matter?’


‘Not really. The weapon and human look normal. Though there still is that remark you made that we still don’t know if it’s related.’


‘Oh?’ Reygina raised an eyebrow.


‘You said that Skywalker took less damage and recovered faster than me.’


‘Yeah, but we believed it was due to his weapon being able to shield some of the damage. We didn’t think much afterwards.’


‘Hmm...’ Reygina said, trying to visualize her thoughts. She could ‘see’ the ideas and things forming in front of her, but none makes sense as of now.


‘For now, we can only observe, and… be there for him if he needs it? I don’t know. I know too little.’


‘Yeah…’ Krisstal replied. Remembering their argument last night, she wondered if that will even be possible for them.


‘What do you plan to do about the amnesia?’


‘Ask around I suppose… Not sure where to start…’


‘Have you tried asking Localcolt, he’s only here a month earlier than us, perhaps he knows something we don’t?’


‘Huh… That’s a promising idea. But what if he knows nothing like us?’


‘Then best to ask around then, I’m confident you will find something.’ Reygina didn’t know but what she said gave Krisstal back some confidence lost last night. Krisstal thanked her best friend and hugged her without knowing.


Reygina was a bit surprised by the embrace but hugged her in return. ‘For the symbols, I wonder if we will find more of these…’


‘Only time will tell.’ The two girls left the library and walked along the busy streets below.


‘Hey, want to go shopping?’ Reygina’s eyes gleamed with excitement. ‘I noticed the people here are more… classy and elegant. Unlike Ragni, whose garments were simpler and basic.’


‘Do we even have the emeralds to afford it, looks a lot more costly than the ones in Ragni.’ Krisstal looked around to see. A man walked past him with a suit and leather shoes, if it were Ragni, he might be wearing fabric tunics.


‘Just one won’t hurt...’ Reygina looked at how grook feathers were attached to the base of a woman’s dress.


‘You always said that and bought twice the amount, at least.’ Krisstal giggled.



‘Trust me, you’ll be there to stop me.’ Reygina laughed and patted the warrior’s head. She tidied up the room and placed her bag on the bed, feeling there is no need to bring it.

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‘What’s happening here…’ Skywalker asked. A large crowd gathered at the front of a small cave at the left of the Western Gate. One of the high-ranking officers is trying to quiet the crowd down.


‘We need that passage open now! Can’t you do something about it?’


‘May we know what’s the holdup, Sir?’


‘I need to get to Ragni at once! Please!’ A mother showed her baby to the man to emphasize her urgency.


‘Everyone, please! Let me explain.’ A man climbed on top of a nearby rock. His voice boomed over the crowd and they quieted down to hear him out. ‘I am Captain Fenor.’


‘We understand how important this cave is, it’s for fast travel between Ragni and Detlas. We had sent two soldiers to help dig out parts of it that had collapsed due to the siege yesterday. Two more soldiers had entered the cave to investigate after we heard strange commotions inside...’


No sooner had the captain finished, cries of horror were let out by the people. Slowly but surely, some black matter began to slither from inside the cave. Hearolie and Skywalker widened their eyes, a memory triggered from within their heads. The black smoke looks almost identical to the one released by the Ragni Outskirts Resident, a previous owner of Wolfred.


A small girl stared at it curiously, finding the substance mesmerising and funny. She slowly inched forward, trying to place her hand in the black substance and play with it.


Skywalker acted quickly, hitting her hand away. ‘Step away from the cave, it’s corruption.’


The crowd slowly backed up to prevent people from crashing into each other. Some of the gentlemen even moved to the side to allow the ladies to leave first. Luckily the black substance stopped advancing right before it reached the surface.


‘I must report this to the leader at once.’ Captain Fenor boomed. He grabbed a sign nearby and wrote ‘dangerous’, telling people not to enter the cave.


‘How do we get to Ragni now?’ No sooner was the question asked were Hearolie saw a familiar caravan coming towards the gate.


‘Fear not citizens.’ Haven and the Landskipper Captain pulled up next to them. ‘We and the Landskipper shall take you all to Ragni now. Due to the circumstances, we only charge half the normal fee for everyone until the tunnel is usable.’


Despite the proposed price and the drivers’ protest, the passengers still paid the full fare. Reluctantly, they accepted their generosity. When everyone was safely aboard, Chocobutt and Sooty started running on the still unrepaired gravel road, trying to make the ride as smooth as possible despite the terrain.


Skywalker, Hearolie and Localcolt remained near the cave; in fact, they are the only ones left near it. The black cloud of smoke seemed to have faded a bit, being less concentrated and lighter in colour.


‘Want to go on a loot run?’ Localcolt suddenly suggested to the boys. ‘I want to gather some ingredients for potion making.’


‘Say what?’ Skywalker tilted his head. ‘What’s that?’


‘Loot running.’ Localcolt explained. ‘It means we plan out a route that involves many loot chests. Loot chests come in four different tiers. Tier I, II, III, and IV; strange symbols, I know, engraved onto the chest lid. Tier One and Two are different from regular chests by brown particle effects while Tier Three and Four have a white particle effect. Lootruns allows us to gain items, ingredients and emeralds quickly; sometimes superb items. Rumour has it that the mages of Mage Island have created these chests to aid us in the battle against the corruption.


‘Well if it means more monsters to kill, I’m in.’


Skywalker nodded, agreeing to join in the hunt. ‘Wonder if I will find one of those strange weapons in the chests?’


‘Alright then! Oh, that’s right.’ Localcolt remembered something. ‘In order to plan a route, we must get a map.’


‘Map…’ Hearolie took out his map for Ragni. ‘But we only have Ragni’s map. It only shows Ragni’s Outskirts, Ragni, Nivla Forest and a few of the surroundings.’


‘I know.’ Localcolt replied. ‘Ragni’s King liked the idea of exploration. He proposed that by only giving out a small part of the world map, it motivates people to explore the outside world instead of cooped in the same place for life.’


‘I see…’ Hearolie heard the explanation. Reygina was right, amazing.


‘When I reached Detlas first time around,’ Localcolt said as he pulled out a different map. ‘I was able to get this at the map shop; we can get some Detlas Teleport Scrolls. Though rumours say that might change soon, seeing how it does create inconvenience to some people.’



‘We need that map piece, best we buy it before we leave.’ Hearolie said. ‘Where do we get this?’


‘At the scroll merchant.’ Localcolt led the two soldiers back inside the city. ‘Ground floor is for buying scrolls, the first floor is for buying map pieces.’



He led them up the stairs, passing through the villager who sold the teleportation scrolls. When they reached the upper floor, a redhead girl was buying a map.


‘Sor… Sorry.’ The girl stammered. ‘I need a map of Detlas, does it cost fifty emeralds?’


The shop owner laughed. ‘No! It costs only twenty emeralds. Same price for anyone.’


‘Oh?’ The redhead girl looked shocked and yet relaxed at the same time. ‘But when I asked for another map of Ragni in their map shop. They say it costs double for me.’


The shop owner let out a sigh. ‘So Ragni still has not completely gotten over their dislike of redheads… I am sorry to hear that, young lady.’


‘Oh… It’s okay. At least I know I don’t need to go out to get emeralds as often as I needed to.’ The girl smiled at him, whether it was out of assurance or upset.


‘Stay safe young traveller. Fear not, Detlas is far more civil than Ragni. Although it’s only the older generations that still had this old way of thinking, that redheads should be despised.’ The young girl nodded and waved goodbye, after buying her map.


Skywalker and Hearolie remembered how Kathi and her family were treated by Ragni’s people. Why were redheads hated because of their unusual hair colour compared to Ragni’s norm is something they can never understand, it just sounds ridiculous. It made them glad that the shop owner was someone other than discriminating.


‘Hey, Mr Marshall.’ Localcolt waved. The two other boys greeted the owner as well.


‘Ah! Hello there Localcolt, what are you still doing around town?’


‘Still gathering materials and self-teaching potions.’ Localcolt laughed. ‘I need two maps of Detlas as well please. Going to do some loot running.’


‘Very well,’ he turned around to get the maps. ‘You know? Funny thing I heard from the potion shop today. He told me that Harold, you know the one who runs Ragni’s Potion shop? Well, his helper accidentally corroded the floorboards of his shop while accidentally mixing the wrong ingredients. He scolded her that she is as stupid as his assistant three years ago. Turns out, he too corroded the shop by accident.


‘That’s… very careless of him. He got caught?’ Localcolt asked, interested in his fate.


‘No, he was never caught. From what I heard, after ordered to buy ingredients, he never returned.’ He faced the three soldiers with two maps at hand. ‘Here you go. Ah, I wish I could sell more than Detlas and Ragni maps. I understand why Ragni and Detlas’ leaders reached that conclusion. It's just that business isn’t good and sustainable like that, wish they would go back to the way it was.’


‘Maybe tell the leader of this issue?’ Skywalker asked. ‘Detlas people seemed very polite and respectful.’


‘I have, just that every time this change was refused in the end after every discussion. I am against this although I understand why they chose to do so.’


‘Don’t worry Sir, we’ll tell the leader again later.’ Localcolt reassured him. ‘Maybe this time he’ll listen.’


Localcolt was thanked for his kindness, and soon, the three soldiers went downstairs and planned their route.

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‘This looks nice, really suits you.’ Krisstal complimented the mage. Reygina spun around at a mirror, looking around herself. She was trying on a simple navy-blue one-piece dress. It has a brown leather belt at the middle, though it was more so for aesthetic than practical use.


‘I like this! I’m getting this!’ Reygina smiled, admiring the reflection once more. Krisstal reminded her that she could only get one dress. ‘Oh, yeah... Well, I’ll take one last look.’


‘You said that for the last six dresses.’ Krisstal was glad the shop assistants were genuinely alright with Reygina trying out so many dresses. If they were someone else, they would have eyed Reygina an annoyed look.


‘Last one I promise.’


‘You said that two dresses ago.’ Krisstal giggled. She had one dress in mind which she really wanted. It was a simple sleeveless white dress that ended right above her kneecaps. It also has a thin sash that ties around the waist neatly a few times. A large white rose sits slightly to the left, covering where the material is tied.


‘I promise, this is the last one.’ Reygina apologised to the nearest staff for the mess she’s making. The smartly dressed lady simply laughed it off, telling her she’s glad the customer is enjoying herself.


After comparing her options one last time, she finally settled on the blue dress. They paid for their dresses and walked back to the Crossroads Inn.


‘Where are the boys?’ Krisstal asked.


‘Who knows… Probably gone off gathering resources or killing monsters maybe?’ The mage stored their new dresses in the closets.


‘Well… What should we do now?’


‘Well, you can help me ask around about Fruma.’


‘Certainly! We can start with the guards at the gates? They see lots of people every day, they will remember if something interesting is mentioned.’


They decided to start with the Northern Gate.


‘Hey… Sorry there. Do you know anything about Fruma?’


‘I’m sorry. I am from Ragni, so I don’t know anything about Fruma.’


‘I don’t really care.’


‘I don’t know anything about it, sorry.’


‘Fruma? Where’s that?’


‘Well, we tried…’ Reygina sighed after asking the Western Gate’s guard.


‘Yeah… Who else can we ask now?’ Krisstal wondered out loud. So much for working towards my goal.


‘Hey…’ Reygina comforted her, ‘let’s keep trying, maybe...’


Footsteps resounded across the cave besides then, a danger sign warning them not to enter. They readied their weapons, expecting a monster to come out of the cave, but it turns out to be just a miner walking out of the cave. The guard from the western gate walked up to the miner.


‘Miner Linton. Everything alright down there?’ The guard asked.


‘Yes, Captain Fenor. The four soldiers inside who helped me had already left. I was just finishing the nitpicks inside.’


‘I see… Is the cave now safe for travel?’


‘Should be, no more black mist or anything. A few mobs might appear inside but nothing too tough. If I can handle them, then anyone can.’


‘Well, if that’s the case.’ Captain Fenor removed the danger sign and mistaken Krisstal and Reygina wanting to use the tunnel. ‘You two can use the tunnel now. Let’s go have a drink Linton, my shift’s over anyways.’


The two gentlemen returned inside the city, leaving the two girls alone.


‘Want to explore it?’ Reygina asked.


‘No, maybe another time.’ Krisstal replied.


They were wondering what else to do when suddenly a cry got their attention.


‘Are you two ladies interested in making some lucky charms?’


‘Oh?’ Krisstal’s interest peaked. ‘For who?’


‘For the people affected by the battle yesterday. Me and my friends decided to make some lucky charms and give them for comfort and good luck!’ The man asked again. ‘Will you two be interested? We will provide all the materials at our stall.’


‘Come on Reygina, let’s do some arts and crafts.’ Krisstal enthusiastically pulled Reygina’s hand.



The stall was empty, as most people just gave a glance and walked away. Krisstal sat down and looked at the options available for them. Flowers, silk, glowstone powder, feathers were available. Her eyes gazed upon a strange colourful block which the man told her that is Vibrant Augment.


An idea began to form in Krisstal’s head, as she began to visualize what she wanted to make. When she made a mental picture of it, she began to work on it. She used some slime to glue assorted colours of wool into small balls. Using string, she threaded the small balls together, adding flower petals in between. She sprinkled some of the glowstone dust on the flowers and added two feathers at the end of the thread as if it were a ribbon. The glowstone helped formed a faint outline of light around the flowers.


‘Krisstal…’ Reygina gasped, she immediately stopped her making her own lucky charm. ‘That’s so wonderful.’ She couldn’t help but felt hers was completely pathetic and inferior. She realised she even got the wool inside out.


‘By the salted.’ The stall owner said in awe. ‘I've never seen such a masterpiece.’


‘You’re too modest.’ Krisstal giggled.


The stall owner was amazed and decided to hang her work at the table. At once, it got the attention of a family.


‘Mummy, that looks amazing, can we make one?’


‘That looks gorgeous.’ The mother agreed, walking forward to have a better look at the delicate details. ‘Did you make that, Mr Quinton?’


‘No, no.’ The stall owner laughed. He outstretched his hand and told them that it was Krisstal’s work. The whole family praised her beautiful lucky charm.


‘Auntie?’ The little kid asked. The mother crossly criticised her daughter for her rudeness and apologised. But Krisstal didn’t mind, deep down, she was quite overjoyed that the stall had finally caught the attention of others.


‘It’s fine.’ She assured the mother and accepted the apology. The young girl wanted her to teach them how to make a lucky charm, to which she happily accepted the mentor role. Reygina acted as her student for fun.


‘This is wonderful.’ Mr Quinton opened a few more new ingredients and items for them to use. The nearby guards took interest and even helped sway other passersby to join them. More people began to take part, with some guards joining after they had finished their shift. Krisstal swore she caught a glimpse of Linton and Captain Fenor in the crowd. Reygina admired the warrior’s patient and charismatic way of teaching the people how to make the lucky charms, she wondered if Skywalker would believe her if she told him how Krisstal acted.

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‘You deserve this, please take it.’ Mr Quinton handed her some emeralds. ‘Without you, I doubt we would have made so many lucky charms.’ He pointed to a crate full of charms, each handmade with lots of love and care by every single participant.


‘It is for a compelling cause; would you donate these to those in need then?’ Krisstal replied. She promised to help others, and it was nice to finally be able to act upon it.


‘Very well, as you wish.’ He pocketed the emeralds. Reygina was helping tidy up the emptied crates at the back whereas Krisstal was cleaning the table. ‘Hey, you should consider being an artist. Caissop is a famous one, his art is legendary.’


‘Huh...’ Krisstal thought for a while. ‘I’ll… consider it.’


‘It’s fine Ms Reygina, I can handle the rest. You can take one of those lucky charms for yourselves, I’m sure we got more than enough.’ Mr Quinton thanked both girls for their help. ‘The children and family members will be incredibly happy to receive these small gifts.’


Krisstal and Reygina were euphoric that the citizens can smile despite experiencing such a tragic loss. It was the least they can do and found their very first hand-made lucky charms. They bid farewell to the stall owner and went back inside the city, their fingers aching from making so many lucky charms.


‘Yours is amazing. So cute.’ Reygina laughed, patting the warrior’s shoulder. ‘I can never do that; I even had the wool inside out!’


‘It’s just... I don’t know…’ Krisstal contemplated her handiwork. ‘I’m sure you can make one better than mine. I mean, you like art, don’t you?’


‘Yeah, but…’ Reygina though for a bit. ‘Liking something and being good at something is just… different. I like to look at artwork but well, I don’t draw well.’


‘Huh… I see.’


‘I heard about what Mr Quinton said about someone called Gossip? Kassoap?’


‘Caissop.’ Krisstal corrected her.


‘Right, sorry.’ Reygina mumbled at her mistake. She had never heard of a name as strange as this before. ‘Shall we ask for her whereabouts?’


‘No.’ The reply surprised Reygina.


‘No? But you’re clearly good at making arts and craft? Plus, maybe he or she could know more about the particular amnesia?’


‘Ah… It’s just that… well…’ Krisstal stumbled a bit on the pathway while thinking how to explain what she had in mind. ‘It’s that, umm, we don’t know where he is. Secondly, I’m not sure if I’m really into arts and crafts, you know? I mean, I never drew a picture before.’


They turned at the crossroads and entered the inn. ‘Those were doodles rather than art. I just make what I have in mind, arts and crafts are more than that, isn’t it? It can’t be this simple or sloppy if I am going to show it to others.’


‘But do you like arts and crafts?’ The question stunned Krisstal a bit for a bit. She never gave much thought about it.


‘I… I don’t know.’


‘Maybe you can make some arts and crafts.’ Reygina suggested. ‘Hey, maybe you can even join some competitions.’


‘Let’s not jump the gun here.’ Krisstal said, Reygina mouthed her an apology for pressuring her. ‘You want to call it a night?’


‘Yeah.’ Reygina stifled a yawn. ‘The boys still aren’t back though…’


‘I bet Skywalker will be back with an injury.’ Krisstal changed into a pair of shorts.


‘Wanna bet? One emerald!’ Reygina tittered. ‘I’d say Hearolie and Localcolt will protect him well enough.’


‘Oh I’ll win, for sure.’ She went to switch off the redstone lamp. ‘Goodnight, Rey.’


‘Night Kriss.’ Reygina closed her eyes.


Krisstal laid down on her bed. She got a hold of her lucky charm and scrutinized it; thoughts overflowing her mindscape. Do I like arts and crafts that much?

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‘Alright! We are now at the Detlas’s Northern Gate.’ Localcolt pointed at their location on the map. ‘We can make a circle around the city. Well, half a circle. We can’t go to the South, it’s where the portal is.’ Skywalker strapped the leather backpack onto himself. He had left a note to notify the girls they had borrowed Reygina’s bag from the girl’s empty room.


He laid out the map for the two boys to see. ‘See this area? This is the Detlas Trail East Plains. With how much time we have left, we will only be able to walk the entire east plains, head south to Detlas Suburbs and then back to Detlas through Detlas Close Suburbs.’


‘But we have one Ragni and Detlas teleportation scroll.’ Skywalker frowned. ‘Can’t we explore further?’


‘Well… The ingredients I need are in the Detlas Trail East Plains. Head further North, we will reach Ancient Nemract. Awfully unwelcome news.’


‘Why is that?’


‘Ancient Nemract was the first city to fall by the portal in 0AP.’ Localcolt explained. ‘And for the next one thousand years, the undead still roam. It’ll be foolish to reach there directly when we are so underpowered ourselves.’


‘Watch me.’ Hearolie snorted. ‘I can slaughter them all.’


‘Thousands of zombies and skeletons?’ Localcolt warned. ‘You must have encountered Burned Suburb Residents and Dead Suburb Residents when you crossed the bridge from Nivla Forest, those were just a small taste of their strength.’


‘We can always teleport back with the scrolls…’ Hearolie argued. ‘No need to be a coward.’


‘But abusing these scrolls has a really bad side effect. They make you...’


Skywalker looked at the sun’s position, estimating how much time they have before dark. ‘You two can argue, but I’m walking.’ He butted in.


The dark wizard simply ignored the archer's glare. ‘Follow me, and don’t worry about the trip being boring. There are plenty of things to see, nonetheless. Are we ready?’


Skywalker nodded. ‘Then let’s begin.’

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‘Why is there a loot chest, of all places. On a boat, in the middle of a pond?’ Hearolie pointed out.


True to his word. In the middle of the blue waters, a boat laid still in the middle. ‘We can either swim or…’ He eyed Hearolie.


‘I can use Escape.’ Hearolie smirked. He backed off a bit and twirled in mid-air. With a confident smile, he faced his back towards the ship and unleashed the spell just before he touched the water.


‘You know I’m here, right?’ Localcolt eyed Skywalker with Envy. ‘I can use Blink to get there.’


‘Yeah, well…’ Skywalker told him he meant no harm. ‘Let him have his moment and he’ll be quieter later.’


Hearolie had already gotten the loot inside the chest. He shouted what he had obtained from inside the crate. ‘I found two leather pants, two spears and bows and a pair of boots. Also some emeralds.’


He used his spells to return to the others at the shore. ‘Not bad this time, better than the last few ones.’


‘Well, could be crap unless we identify them.’ Hearolie snorted.


‘That’s fine, you can sell them for emeralds or scrap.’ Localcolt replied. ‘Scrap is used for repairing your own created items.’


‘Huh, interesting…’ Skywalker thought. ‘Can I make a copy of the strange spear that I lost?’


He was still deep in thought when a sheep suddenly rammed into him, knocking him to the ground. He slashed at the sheep that was trying to bite his face. While his friend was attacked, Hearolie sent a headshot at the weird sheep. But even that attack didn’t seem to faze the naked green skinned sheep. He fired another arrow, but it was still unbothered by it. Localcolt tried to use his wand to beat the sheep off Skywalker, occasionally healing Skywalker who was still on the ground, dodging its strong stomps. Hearolie unleashed an Arrow Storm, barely hitting Skywalker. The crazy sheep finally toppled over to its side, its form disappeared in a cloud of white particles.


Skywalker stood back up, brushing off the dirt from himself. ‘What was that? A runaway sheep from one of the farmers?’


‘No, that’s a Zombified Sheep.’ Localcolt answered. ‘They attack any travellers walking on this path particularly.’


‘See how many shots you need to take just to take down one sheep?’ He said to Hearolie. ‘Ancient Nemract is far worse, even the nearest city has sometimes trouble dealing with it.’


Hearolie tsked. ‘My crossbow is just weak. Time for an upgrade soon.’


‘Maybe, but that is precisely why I do not recommend going too far north.’ Localcolt once again reminded them of the dangers.


‘We get it,’ Hearolie interrupted. ‘Can we get going?’


Localcolt felt like wanting to kick him but decided to just ignore him instead. He hastily picked up the pace and gave the two recruits a ‘tour’ on their surroundings.

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‘A cave.’ Localcolt pointed out the obvious. The cave was a small one. In truth, they could see the end of it from the outside.



‘Let’s go in!’ Skywalker said ecstatically. A familiar cry echoed across the small cave, sending shivers down his spine. ‘I hate spiders’ Skywalker protested and backed off.


‘Pathetic. I have been attacked by spiders so many times and I still don’t give a second thought to kill them.’ He criticised his pal. ‘How can you be a soldier…’


‘Hey, don’t need to…’


‘I didn’t ask for your opinion.’ The archer snapped at the dark wizard.


‘Alright, alright.’ Skywalker separated them. ‘You two go in and see if there is a loot chest inside. I’ll ah… guard the entrance form the Roaming Zombies and Roaming skeletons we have been fighting for a while.’


As if on cue, one of those Roaming Zombies saw them and advanced towards them. Localcolt and Hearolie lit a torch from one of the candles nearby and explored the cave.


The Roaming Zombie tore off its own muscle and rotten flesh. Grabbing it tightly, it swung its own body parts like a short whip at the ninja. The ninja had fought them already and know what to do. He deflected the attack to the side with his claws, leaving the zombie open for attack. It was then with some simple manoeuvring that he easily defeated the monster.


Sensing another attack, he moved his head just in time to catch a brief glance of a bone swung at him. It could only mean a Roaming Skeleton had sneaked up on him.


‘Take this! Whirlwind.’ The spell attacked anything near his radius. He knocked the skeleton back with that spell and leapt forward. The skeleton moved at the right time to where the claws swiped right in between its bones, leaving it unharmed. Skywalker cursed under his own breath at its luck, deciding to send a heavy punch with his other arm. He knocked off its jaw as the skeleton struck him with the bone that it had torn off from itself. Withstanding the pain, the ninja slashed hard at the monster in rage, killing it.


He looked at where he was hit, and sure enough, a small bruise was there. He once again cursed the lucky mob as it disappeared as well, just like any other corrupted.


‘Did you got hit?’ Hearolie laughed as the archer and dark wizard exited the cave. Localcolt blew out the torch.


‘Only because it was lucky.’


‘Or you were unlucky.’ Localcolt and Skywalker shared a small laugh. Hearolie told the ninja what they had obtained.


‘It was just a single Lonely Spider.’ Localcolt added. ‘Didn’t even attack us, just hanging in its web by its own in the corner.’


‘Still a spider.’ Skywalker shrugged.


Sometime later, they crossed over a bridge and reached an area that was like an arena. The windmill at the north end of the battleground seemed to have been in disrepair, with cobwebs dangling from the sails. Some of the sails buckled under its own weight and fell onto the ground or just barely hung onto the main structure. The whole thing seemed to be falling apart at any time.


‘Look there.’ Localcolt pointed to the monsters in front of them. They hid behind a nearby bush when they saw black particles forming out of nowhere, meaning monsters are about to appear.


‘Aimless Undead and Blind Skeletons.’ Localcolt whispered. Skywalker peeped through the thick greenery, seeing zombies with wooden hoes and leather pants appeared. Hearolie observed carefully at a skeleton with a black head. It wore a leather chestplate and seemed to only look in one direction.


‘That’s it? Seems much easier than the Zombies in Detlas Suburbs or Resurrected Ragni Soldiers in Nivla Forest.’ Hearolie was about to rush out from the bush but was stopped by Skywalker and Localcolt.


‘Don’t let their simple equipment fool you,’ Localcolt let go of the archer. ‘A lot of monsters are actually tougher than they looked, tricking and turning recruits with ease. Matter of fact, some monsters use the weapons and gear of their prey for their own. This is easily done so with recruits who underestimated them.’


‘Just like that Zombified Sheep.’ Skywalker nodded.


A lone knight with just a full set of leather armour had appeared nearby, thinking it was a clever idea to kill the mobs alone.


‘We better get going, stay here any longer and they will know our presence.’ Localcolt whispered.


‘Shouldn’t we warn him?’ Skywalker quickly asked, concerned about the small group. His feet still rooted on the ground.


‘We should get going.’ Localcolt insisted, dragging Skywalker alongside with him.


‘But but…’ He heard the knight cry for help. His cry for help; however, not only got the three soldiers’ attention but also the other skeletons. Despite being blind, the blinded skeleton could still accurately shoot its target. The knight cried in pain and fell on the ground.


‘He’s done for, let’s…’ Localcolt said ready to teleport away.


‘Help him.’ Skywalker yanked Localcolt’s grip and used Shadow Clone.



The knight pulled the arrow out of his hip, applying pressure to the wound to stop his blood from leaking out uncontrollably. His eyes widened in horror, his life flashed before his eyes as two arrows were heading towards him. Out of nowhere, a ninja appeared in front of him and used Whirlwind, the spell deflected the arrows as he landed on his feet. More arrows were fired, this time aimed at the ninja; he remained motionless as the knight began to panic.


‘Don’t just stand there! Get out of the way.’ The ninja, however, remained still as if he were the real lifeless one here. The knight watched in horror as the arrows hit their mark, but the ninja just disappeared.


‘That’s just a shadow clone…’ The knight gasped. The skeletons remained motionless, unable to see or hear where the target was. The zombie counterparts were just as baffled. Suddenly the blind skeletons felt three slashes simultaneously, Skywalker had appeared near them but kept as quiet as possible, minimising their chances of detecting him. He attacked them here and there, occasionally turning invisible and leaving shadow clones to trick the Aimless Undead who could see him.


While the ninja was dealing with the archers, the knight felt a bit better suddenly and saw a dark wizard healing him. Green particles surrounded the area as the knight felt a bit of strength returning to him. The dark wizard helped him up and heard an Aimless Undead about to strike him with its wooden hoe. The weapon glowed a faint shade of green, showing its attack are infused with the earth element. The knight cried out in horror but Localcolt simply smiled and ignored it. An Arrow Storm spell attack barraged the Aimless Undead from a high vantage point. Hearolie sniped any zombies that came too close to the three comrades, buying them time to escape. A Blind Skeleton coincidentally shot an arrow high enough so that Hearolie was within range, he didn’t bother to use Escape and simply rolled over to dodge. The birch tree he was on was thick enough to support him without any trouble.


‘I got him, let’s go!’ Localcolt told the injured knight to lean on him while the two slowly made their way out of the area. Skywalker turned invisible and attacked any mobs near them, moving quickly to intercept any attacks aimed for them. Hearolie used Escape to gain even higher ground, shooting mobs while he slowly landed on his feet.

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‘Here, this should stop the bleeding for a bit.’ Localcolt handed him a handmade healing potion with mushrooms from Nivla forest he had on himself. ‘It’ll heal you and help regeneration.’


‘Thanks… Though no matter the danger, I can handle it.’ The knight drank the potion as the dark wizard propounded. The four of them had taken cover at a nearby cave for rest.


‘Just thank the one who decided to save you.’ Localcolt answered, looking at Skywalker.


The ninja gave the knight a smile and a thumbs up. ‘I would never abandon anyone.’ He looked around to see the archer on guard duty. ‘What’s your name?’


‘I am Harrison.’ The knight proclaimed with an aura of arrogance. ‘I heard there are more difficult mobs here, killing them will prove myself worthy as the next Bob.’


‘Bob doesn’t need saving.’ Hearolie replied harshly. He exasperatingly hated his tone and gratitude.


‘Well yeah? I only see you hiding in a tree to battle, weakling.’ Harrison taunted and was about to punch the archer for humiliating him. He regretted doing that and mentally slapped himself for not learning his lesson back in the tavern. The words once again came out of his mouth before he can think or stop himself.


Hearing that statement, a fire starts burning inside Hearolie. Hearolie caught his punch and pushed him on the ground. Hearolie picked Harrison up by grabbing his collar.


‘Listen here,’ the archer hissed at the knight. ‘You Bob wannabe. Bob can counter an army of corrupted all by himself. You were crapping yourself when you faced a few zombies and skeletons just now.’


‘Hearolie, enough.’ Skywalker stopped him. ‘No point in doing that. He didn’t mean it.’


Hearolie let go of the knight who cast one last glare at him. The archer went out of the cave, the sun still up high in the sky. ‘I’m not weak, I’m not!’ He murmured under his breath. He found a large flat rock to sit on to cool off.


Moments passed, and the ninja walked up from behind the archer. ‘He’s gone. Localcolt gave him his Ragni teleport scroll, saying that he won’t need it. Though for some reason, he seems reluctant about going to Ragni.’


‘Good riddance.’ Hearolie grunted, looking at the barn houses in the distance.


‘He wanted to tell you that he’s sorry, but he knows you’re going to murder him, so he asked me to deliver the message.’ Skywalker stood next to him. ‘I know why you act like this, but others don’t.’


‘I know.’ The archer sighed. Skywalker joined him and sat down next to him. ‘You are the best archer I have ever seen in Ragni, I’m sure you’ll be one that shall be remembered throughout the ages.’


‘Always.’ Skywalker glimpsed at a smile forming at Hearolie, a rare genuine one that hides no ounce of sarcasm. Skywalker smiled at well without realising.


A parrot flew over their heads and headed inside the cave where Localcolt was making some potions with his brewing stand. It costs a lot of emeralds to get that and for a whole week he had to get rations, but he knew it was worth it.


The parrot landed next to him, gently pecked him to get his attention. Localcolt was a bit surprised to see the messenger parrot at this time. He untied the note that was secured at the parrot’s feet and read it.


‘Regroup at Maltic. Igieoo.’ Localcolt thanked the parrot and wrote a message of his own, tightly strapping it around the parrot.


‘Looks like today is my last day with them…’ He said sadly and walked to Skywalker and Hearolie about the situation.

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Harrison was based on Wynncraft Forums @WithTheFish ’s ‘Heroes And Vagabonds’; whereas the potion shop is a reference to his work ‘The Archivist’. Go check out his posts, I find them very interesting in the forums. It was nice to able to finally finish this chapter around a month as I always wanted. Thank you for reading.


Thank you every officer, admin, builder and others who created and developed Wynncraft. Do share important information about Wynncraft, such as easter eggs and timelines or even 'wynn'consistencies. As the information will help me improve my story greatly. Thank you once again for reading until the end. I do not own anything except this story. If you are interested, I could add your player characters as characters in my story, just send me your name and a screenshot of your character (with or without gear) in wynncraft, preferably your front, side and back. It would be a bonus if you can list out the names of your gear and mount. Feel free to talk to me about things not related to Wynncraft as well, I would never mind changing topic anyways. Thank you all and may the force be with you. This is an unofficial story made only by myself and everything here is based on either what's currently in the game or my interpretation of what's currently in the game. Hypixel weapons belong to Hypixel. I only own the main characters and this story only.


Other sources:

Wattpad: https://www.wattpad.com/699806539-for-the-wynn-king's-recruit-part-1

Fanfiction.net: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12951945/1/For-The-Wynn

Archives of our own: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14778395/chapters/42299039

 

That's a good story.

 

Thank you for your kind words.